Page 38 of Rising Reign

Puck just started laughing. “Dina, Rhys. Rhys, Dina. And you might want to let her go because she’s got a bat back here, and she’s not afraid to use it.”

Rhys’s brows rose. “A fighter. I like it.”

Dina tugged her hand free and turned to me. “Who is this? Really.”

My lips twitched. “He’s a friend of Ender’s who’s visiting.”

That had her eyes narrowing. “That moody bastard doesn’t have any friends.”

Rhys barked out a laugh. “Truer words have never been spoken. We’re more…life-debt bonded,” he explained.

Dina leaned in, grabbing my hand. “Is everything okay? Is your dad back?”

With Clyde’s help, we’d explained to her what was going on, and she’d handled it better than expected, saying she’d known something was up with the guys. She’d just thought they were CIA, not wolf shifters.

“I’m good. Rhys is just here for, uh, backup,” I said.

“I am not backup,” Rhys huffed. “I am a first line of defense. Please and thank you.”

The front door opened, and Clyde strode in, followed by Franco and Juan. He beamed the moment he saw Dina. “There’s my girl.”

Her cheeks flushed. “Don’t you start.”

Clyde just grinned wider. “What? I can’t say that you look stunning today?”

Dina just glared at him, and I couldn’t help but laugh.

“Get it, boss man,” Juan called as he moved toward the bar. “Those sweet nothings are panty droppers.”

Dina’s glare grew more heated as she turned it on Juan. “You talk about my panties one more time, and I’m takin’ that bat to the side of your head.”

Franco clapped a hand on Juan’s shoulder. “Don’t worry, Dina. I’ll keep him in line.”

She let out a scoff. “No one can do that.”

I moved behind the bar and pulled out my order pad. “Guys, meet Ender’s friend, Rhys. Rhys, this is Juan, Franco, and Clyde. They are all part of Crescent Kingdom, in various capacities.”

Juan’s eyes narrowed as he studied Rhys, and then he leaned across the bar to me and dropped his voice to a whisper. “What is he? A wolf? A witch? A banshee? A minotaur?”

I struggled not to laugh.

Franco rolled his eyes. “He’s been hitting Google a little too hard.”

Rhys arched a brow as he studied the three humans. “They know about our world?”

Puck grimaced. “Some shit went down.”

“And you trust them?” Rhys pressed.

Clyde bristled at that. “We’d do anything to protect Wren, and the guys are our brothers.”

Rhys grinned. “Good. We’ll need you.”

“Dude,” Juan said, leaning closer. “What are you? I don’t get a wolfy vibe.”

Rhys’s nose wrinkled. “As if. I’m what you would call a vampire.”

Juan’s eyes went comically wide. “Like…you want to drink my blood? That kind of vampire?”